Tag: Experience Builder

Explore Flood Resilience in Toronto: An Interactive Mapping Tool

Author: Shantelle Miller
Geovisualization Project Assignment @TMUGeography, SA8905, Fall 2024

Introduction: Why Flood Resilience Matters

Urban flooding is a growing concern, especially in cities like Toronto, where increasing urbanization has disrupted the natural water cycle. Greenspaces, impervious surfaces, and stormwater infrastructure all play vital roles in reducing flood risks, but understanding how these factors interact can be challenging.

To address this, I created an interactive mapping tool using ArcGIS Experience Builder that visualizes flood resilience in Toronto. By combining multiple datasets, including Topographic Wetness Index (TWI), greenspaces, and stormwater infrastructure, this map highlights areas prone to flooding and identifies zones where natural mitigation occurs.

One of the tool’s standout features is the TWI-Greenspace Overlay, which pinpoints “Natural Absorption Zones.” These are areas where greenspaces overlap with high TWI values, demonstrating how natural environments help absorb runoff and reduce flooding.

Why Experience Builder?

I chose ArcGIS Experience Builder for this project because it offers a user-friendly, highly customizable platform for creating dynamic, interactive web maps. Unlike static maps, Experience Builder allows users to explore data in real-time with widgets like toggleable layers, dynamic legends, and interactive pop-ups.

  • Multi-Dataset Integration: It supports the combination of multiple datasets like TWI, greenspaces, and stormwater infrastructure.
  • Widgets and Tools: Users can filter data, view attributes, and toggle layers seamlessly.
  • No Code Required: Although customizable, the platform doesn’t require coding, making it accessible for users of all technical backgrounds.

The Importance of Data Normalization and Standardization

Before diving into the data, it’s essential to understand the critical role that data normalization and standardization played in this project:

  • Ensuring Comparability: Different datasets often come in various formats and scales. Standardizing these allows for meaningful comparisons across layers, such as correlating TWI values with greenspace coverage.
  • Improving Accuracy: Normalization adjusts values measured on different scales to a common scale, reducing potential biases and errors in data interpretation.
  • Facilitating Integration: Harmonized data enables seamless integration within the mapping tool, enhancing user experience and interaction.

Data: The Foundation of the Project

The project uses data from the Toronto Open Data Portal and Ontario Data Catalogue, processed in ArcGIS Pro, and published to ArcGIS Online.

Layers

Topographic Wetness Index (TWI):

  • Derived from DEM
  • TWI identifies areas prone to water accumulation.
  • It was categorized into four levels (low, medium, high, and very high flood risk), with only the highest-risk areas displayed for focus.

Greenspaces:

  • Includes parks, forests, and other natural areas that act as natural buffers against flooding.

Impervious Surfaces and Pervious Surfaces:

  • Pervious Surfaces: Represent natural areas like soil, grass, and forests that allow water to infiltrate.
  • Impervious Surfaces: Represent roads, buildings, and other hard surfaces that contribute to runoff.

Stormwater Infrastructure:

  • Displays critical infrastructure like catch basins and sewer drainage points, which manage water flow.

TWI-Greenspace Overlay:

  • Combines high-risk TWI zones with greenspaces to identify “Natural Absorption Zones”, where natural mitigation occurs.

Creating the Map: From Data to Visualization

Step 1: Data Preparation in ArcGIS Pro

  1. Imported raw data and clipped layers to Toronto’s boundaries.
  2. Processed TWI using terrain analysis and classified it into intuitive flood risk levels.
  3. Combined pervious and impervious surface data into a single dataset for easy comparison.
  4. Created the TWI-Greenspace Overlay, merging greenspaces and TWI data to show natural flood mitigation zones.
  5. Normalized and standardized all layers.

Step 2: Publishing to ArcGIS Online

  1. Uploaded processed layers as hosted feature layers with customized symbology.
  2. Configured pop-ups to include detailed attributes, such as TWI levels, land cover types, and drainage capacities as well as google map direct link for each point feature.

Step 3: Building the Experience in ArcGIS Experience Builder

  1. Imported the web map into Experience Builder to design the user interface.
  2. Added widgets like the Map, Interactive Layer List, Filters, Legend, Search etc., for user interaction.
  3. Customized layouts and legends to emphasize the relationship between TWI, greenspaces, and surface types.

Interactive Features

The map offers several interactive features to make flood resilience data accessible:

Layer List:

  • Users can toggle between TWI, pervious surfaces, impervious surfaces, greenspaces, and infrastructure layers.

Dynamic Legend:

  • Updates automatically to reflect visible layers, helping users interpret the map.

Pop-Ups:

  • Provide detailed information for each feature, such as:
  • TWI levels and their implications for flood risk.
  • Land cover types, distinguishing between pervious and impervious surfaces.
  • Greenspace types and their flood mitigation potential.

TWI-Greenspace Overlay Layer:

  • Highlights areas where greenspaces naturally mitigate flooding, called “Natural Absorption Zones.”

Filters:

Enable users to focus on specific attributes, such as high-risk TWI areas or zones dominated by impervious surfaces.

Applications and Insights

  • The interactive map provides actionable insights for multiple audiences:

Urban Planners:

  • Identify areas lacking greenspace or dominated by impervious surfaces where flooding risks are highest.
  • Plan infrastructure improvements to mitigate runoff, such as adding bioswales or permeable pavement.

Planners:

  • Assess development sites to ensure they align with flood mitigation goals and avoid high-risk areas.

Homeowners:

  • Evaluate flood risks and identify natural mitigation features in their neighborhoods.
  • For example, the map can reveal neighborhoods with high TWI and limited greenspace, showing where additional stormwater infrastructure might be necessary.

Limitations and Future Work

Limitations

  1. Incomplete Data: Some areas lack detailed data on stormwater infrastructure or land cover, leading to gaps in analysis.
  2. Dynamic Changes: The static nature of the datasets means the map doesn’t reflect recent urban development or climate events.

Future Work

  1. Add real-time data on precipitation and runoff to make the tool more dynamic.
  2. Expand the analysis to include socioeconomic factors, highlighting vulnerable populations.
  3. Enhance accessibility features to ensure compliance with AODA standards for users with disabilities.

Conclusion: A Tool for Flood Resilience

Flood resilience is a complex issue requiring a nuanced understanding of natural and built environments. This interactive mapping tool simplifies these relationships by visualizing critical datasets like TWI, greenspaces, and pervious versus impervious surfaces.

By highlighting areas of natural flood mitigation and zones at risk, the map provides actionable insights for planners, developers, and homeowners. The TWI-Greenspace Overlay layer, in particular, underscores the importance of greenspaces in managing stormwater and reducing flood risks in Toronto.

I hope this project inspires further exploration of flood resilience strategies and serves as a resource for building a more sustainable and resilient city.

Thank you for reading, and feel free to explore the map experience using the link below!

Project Link: Explore Flood Resilience in Toronto
Data Source: Toronto Open Data Portal, Ontario Open Data Catalogue
Built Using: ArcGIS Pro, ArcGIS Online, and ArcGIS Experience Builder

Family Travel Survey

Marzieh Darabi, Geovis Project Assignment, TMU Geography, SA8905, Fall 2024

https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/638bb61c62b3450ab3133ff21f3826f2

This project is designed to help transportation planners understand how families travel to school and identify the most commonly used walking routes. The insights gained enable the City of Mississauga to make targeted improvements, such as adding new signage where it will have the greatest impact.

Project Workflow

Each school has its own dedicated page within the app, displaying both a map and a survey. The maps were prepared in ArcGIS Pro and then shared to ArcGIS Online. In the Map Viewer, I defined the symbology and set the desired zoom level for the final map. To identify key routes for the study, I used the Buffer tool in ArcGIS Pro to analyze routes in close proximity to schools. Next, I applied the Select by Location tool to identify routes located within a 400-meter radius of each school. These selected routes were then exported as a new street dataset. I further refined this dataset by customizing the streets to include only the most relevant options, reducing the number of choices presented in the survey.

Each route segment was labeled to correspond directly with the survey questions, making it easy for families to understand which options in the survey matched the map. To make these labels, new field was added to street dataset that would correspond to options in the survey. These maps were then integrated into ArcGIS Experience Builder using the Map Widget, which allows further customization of map content and styling via the application’s settings panel.

ArcGIS Experience Builder interface showing the process of adding a Map Widget and customizing the app layout

Why Experience Builder?

When designing the application, I chose ArcGIS Experience Builder because of its flexibility, modern interface, and wide range of features tailored to building interactive applications. Here are some of the specifications and advantages of using Experience Builder for this project:

  1. Widget-Based Design:
    Experience Builder operates on a widget-based framework, allowing users to drag and drop functional components onto the canvas. This flexibility made it easy to integrate maps, surveys, buttons, and text boxes into a cohesive application.
  2. Customizable Layouts:
    The platform offers tools for designing responsive layouts that adapt to different screen sizes. For this project, I configured desktop layout to ensure that the application is accessible to families.
  3. Map Integration:
    The Map Widget provided options to display the walking routes and key streets interactively. I set specific map extents to align with the study’s goals. End-users could zoom in or out and interact with the map to see routes more clearly.
  4. Survey Integration:
    By embedding the survey using the Survey Widget, I was able to link survey questions directly to map visuals. The widget also allowed real-time updates, meaning survey responses are automatically stored and can be accessed or analyzed in ArcGIS Online.
  5. Dynamic User Navigation:
    The Button Widget enabled intuitive navigation between pages. Each button is configured to link directly to a school’s map and survey page, while a Back Button on each page ensures users can easily return to the introduction screen.
  6. Styling Options:
    Experience Builder offers extensive styling options to customize the look and feel of the application. I used the Style Panel to select fonts, colors, and layouts that are visually appealing and accessible.

App Design Features

The app is designed to accommodate surveys for seven schools. To ensure ease of navigation, I created an introductory page listing all the schools alongside a brief overview of the survey. From this page, users can navigate to individual school maps using a Button Widget, which links directly to the corresponding school pages. A Back Button on each map page allows users to return to the school list easily.

The survey is embedded within each page using the Survey Widget, allowing users to submit their responses directly. The submitted data is stored as survey records and can be accessed via ArcGIS Online.

Setting links between buttons and pages in ArcGIS Experience Builder

Customizing Surveys

The survey was created using the Survey123 app, which offers various question types to suit different needs. For my survey, I utilized multiple-choice and single-line text question types. Since some questions are specific to individual schools, I customized their visibility using visibility rules based on the school selected in Question 1. For example, Question 4, which asks families about the routes they use to reach school, only becomes visible once a school is selected in Question 1.

If the survey data varies significantly across different maps, separate surveys can be created for each school to ensure accuracy and relevance.

setting visibility rules for survey questions based on user responses

Final Thoughts

Using ArcGIS Experience Builder provided the ideal platform for this project by combining powerful map visualizations with an intuitive interface for survey integration. Its customization options allowed me to create a user-centric app that meets the needs of both families and transportation planners.

Using ArcGIS Experience Builder for 3D Mapping of Zoning restrictions and Buildings in Toronto

Daniel Kogan

Geovis Project Assignment @RyersonGeo, SA8905, Fall 2021

Introduction/ background

Every city has zoning bylaws that dictate land use. Most cities, including the City of Toronto, have zoning bylaws that set building height limits for different zoning areas. Sometimes, buildings are built above the height limit, either due to development agreements or grandfathering of buildings (when a new zoning by-law doesn’t apply to existing buildings). The aim of this project is to provide a visualization tool for assessing which buildings in Toronto are within the zoning height limits and which are not.

Data and Processing

3D Buildings

The 3D building data was retrieved from Toronto Open Data and derived using the following methods:

  • LiDAR (2015)
  • Site Plans – building permit site plan drawings
  • Oblique Aerials – oblique aerial photos and “street view” photos accessible in Pictometry, Google Earth, and Google Maps.
  • 3DMode – digital 3D model provided by the developer

Zoning Bylaws

Two zoning Bylaw shapefiles were used (retrieved from Toronto Open Data as well):

  • Building Heights Limits – spatially joined (buildings within zoning area) to the 3D buildings to create the symbology shown on the map. Categories were calculated using the max average building height (3D data) and zoning height limit (zoning bylaws).
  • Zoning Categories – used to gain additional information and investigate how or why buildings went over the zoning height limit.

Geovisualization

ArcGIS experience builder was used to visualize the data. A local scene with the relevant data was uploaded as a web scene and chosen as the data source for the interactive map in the “Experience”. The map includes the following aspects: Legend showing the zoning and height categories, a layer list allowing users to toggle the zoning category layer on to for further exploration of the data, and a “Filter by Height Category” tool that allows users to view buildings within a selected height category. Pop-ups are enabled for individual buildings and zones for additional information. Some zones include bylaw expectations which may explain why some of the buildings within them are allowed to be above the zoning height limit (only an exception code is provided, a google search is required to gain a better understanding). instructions and details about the map are provided to the user as well.

Limitations

The main limitation of this project is insufficient data – a lack of either building height or zoning height results in a category of “No data” which are displayed as grey buildings. Another limitation is possibly the accuracy of the data, as LiDAR data can sometimes be off and provide wrong estimates of building height. Inaccuracies within 1m were solved by adding an additional category, but there may be some inaccuracies beyond

Introducing YouthMappers

Author: Daniel Council

Geovis Project Assignment @RyersonGeo, SA8905, Fall 2021

Project Link: https://arcg.is/15zmWP0

Background

During my time in undergrad, I became involved with an international network of student mappers called YouthMappers. Through virtual internships and engagement with the chapter at my university, I started to become an active member of the network. For starters, one of the main goals of YouthMappers is to create open data for areas of the world that are lacking readily available spatial data. 

The concept of open data is similar to Wikipedia, it can be provided by anyone. The primary method of open data collection used is OpenStreetMap, which is an open source platform that anyone can edit and upload spatial information onto, such as roads and buildings, for example. Many companies, organizations, and websites use data found on OpenStreetMap. The popular mobile-phone game, Pokémon Go, sources its map data from OpenStreetMap. However, arguably the most beneficial aspect of open data is that it is free, readily available, and accessible to anyone.

YouthMappers Chapters around the Globe

There are currently 291 YouthMappers chapters located throughout 62 countries around the globe. My chapter was located in Muncie, Indiana, at Ball State University. I interned with YouthMappers to research how open data is being used in Belize, and I also looked into how the Belizean government views open data as opposed to official sources of information. Additionally, I worked with the YouthMappers Validation Hub, which works to validate mapping projects conducted by YouthMappers chapters.

Project Description

For my geovisualization project, I was inspired by my involvement with YouthMappers. I wanted to introduce the organization to our class using technology provided by Esri. I often work with Dashboards, web maps, and Story Maps, but I was interested in trying out one of the other apps that Esri hosts in order to learn a new tool. I came across Experience Builder in ArcGIS Online, and was interested in how it can almost be used as a tool for creating a website, one that can be viewed across any type of device.

While there is a lot of overlap in functionality between Experience Builder, Dashboards, and Story Maps, Experience Builder allows for increased customization. There is no coding necessary, however. In fact, the user interface for creating an Experience is quite user friendly once you learn the main concepts. Within Experience Builder, you can even integrate and link other Esri applications like Survey123 or Dashboards, a functionality not available elsewhere. Experience Builder can be more comprehensive than Dashboards, which is mainly used to provide information on a singular, non-scrolling screen. With Experience Builder, you can create long, scrolling pages (which I did not personally do in my project). With this being said, Experience Builder is definitely the way to go if you’re looking to make something that is more in tune with a website. 

The remainder of this blog post will serve as a tutorial for the basics of how to use Experience Builder to create a web page for your organization. The approach I took was fairly simple, as I wanted to be able to disseminate the key information with as few pages and tabs as possible, and also have everything fit on a singular screen to prevent the need for endless scrolling. I only included three tabs to display information, which are described below. YouthMappers already has their own website, so my project is more of a condensed and interactive version that can be viewed in a short amount of time, and provides a general introduction to people who may be unfamiliar with the network. 

Three Tabs used to Separate Information

About: Used to introduce the organization and give a visualization of how widespread it is. The map I used is interactive and allows for user-friendly navigation and custom pop-ups for each point on the map.

Our Work: Gives a real-life example of a project conducted by the organization, and shows the benefits and impact this project makes. Giving an example helps the viewer understand how the organization operates. A visual of the completed or in-progress project can further provide something almost tangible.

Get Involved: Provides a way to viewers to become a member or learn more about the organization if they wish. Gives a link to the more detailed organization website.

Experience Builder: The Basics

Now, for using Experience Builder itself, there are a few important concepts to learn before beginning. While the app provides a number of pre-made templates, I would recommend starting with a blank project. I tried starting with a template but personally found it too overwhelming. I enjoyed the process of learning how Experience Builder works from scratch and found it easier than trying to integrate my ideas with something that was already formatted in a specific way.

Pages: In my project, there are three pages, each being linked to the tabs mentioned above. Pages are almost like layers on a map, each one contains different components and displays different visualizations.

Widgets: Each page can contain a multitude of widgets. Different types of widgets are designated by the icon to the left of its name. For my Experience, I used maps, images, text, tabs, and charts, just to name a few. I also gave my widgets descriptive names that related to what they displayed. It helped me keep track of my widgets in an organized manner. 

After adding your widgets, you can customize them to your liking. When a widget is activated, the “Style” tab appears on the right side of the screen. Here, one can alter the size, position, appearance, and other visual effects of each widget.

Overall, Experience Builder is a unique tool that combines the story-telling aspects of Story Maps, the geospatial technology of web maps, and the easy-to-navigate user interface of Dashboards. I would definitely use this tool again for future use, as I can now visualize more ways it can be utilized.